Welcome to an adventure in practical civics

SB47, well water — No.

The owner of a domestic well cannot recondition his well, the depth of his well may be determined for him and he may be required to connect to city water at his own expense, even if he doesn’t need it or use it? Sounds like a police state to me. Why do you Legislators feel like you must micromanage everyone’s lives? People in rural areas have moved there to avoid the complications and expense of city living. Leave them alone! NO on SB47.

by aynmaple

Please oppose SB47. Individuals have bought property in rural areas, paid to dig, and maintain a well and pay for the electricity to pump the water. Now you want to come in sometimes many years later and decide that they have no right to use that water. . The use of this water is a property right. If government wants the well water from these property owners they should have to pay for it. That is part of the cost of growth in any area. It is also a limited resource. As an area gets toward the limit of the amount of water they have then water increases in cost to get to its “highest and best use”. We live on well water and when we bought the property 30 years ago we understood that if the well went dry or needed to be “redrilled” we would have to hook up to city water almost no matter what the cost would be. Understanding this we are very careful about our water use. Now you want to take the water from me and give it to new construction with no limits on them such as no pools, fountains, or new lawn? We live in a DESERT, start accepting that we cannot supply unlimited population growth. If you think that the growth is worth it then BUY the water and price it as a limiting valuable resource.

by mybridgy

This bill is yet another example of big government usurping the property rights of citizens. Water rights in Nevada are critical to life itself and nothing justifies this heavy handed power grab which seeks to virtually drive families off their property. This is both immoral and unconstitutional.

by truejoy927

I oppose SB47 which makes various changes relating to the appropriation of water that would violate Nevada property rights. This is just a water grab by utility services to control water and pricing. It is a grab to control domestic wells. Landowners should not be forced to hook-up to utility services. Domestic necessity of water is a human right. Domestic wells are currently exempt from the Nevada Law of water appropriation and should remain that way. Also, allowing the State Engineer or his assistance access to personal private property, without a warrant, is unacceptable. Please vote “NO” on SB47 to protect domestic wells.

by janine

-If revocable permits are issued on your well you will never own it as you can be forced abandon it at any time in the future.
-The cost of forced mandatory hook-up to a utility on large rural lots could easily be more than the value of the land.
-Allowing the State Engineer or his assistants and agents access onto your personal private property is not acceptable. Even the Sheriff needs at warrant signed by a judge to do that.
-State issued water rights are not a right; they are a state issued privilege. Domestic necessity of water is a human right. Domestic wells are exempt from the Nevada Law of water appropriation.